Orientation
Airport
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) is the city's only airport and all attendees – except those who are locally based or who are driving to the event – will pass through it. It has one terminal with International Arrivals located on the north side of the airport, while Domestic Arrivals is on the south side. Both arrival gates lead to the central exit area of the airport, where the airport's information booth is located, and outside of which is a bus terminal, taxi rank and car hire facilities.
Currency
The South African currency is the Rand ("ZAR")
As of 9 July, 100 Rand, written "R 100", is equal to USD 7.47; GBP 5.64; or EUR 6.35 (approx).
Mobile data
Select international SIM cards offer favorable roaming rates in South Africa. When you turn on your phone you will receive an SMS explaining the costs.
Local data costs average at 0.75c (€0.05) per minute for calling credit and R100 (€6.35) per GB for data, if you load a bundle or dial the codes to select the right calling plan. You can purchase a South African SIM either on arrival at the airport or at the V&A Waterfront, with only your passport. Other cell phone stores or locations will ask for proof of a South African address before they can issue you a SIM card. The stores located at the V&A Waterfront and the Airport are the only locations where a proof of address is not required.*
At the airport, there are three stores where SIM cards can be purchased. Two (one MTN and one Vodacom store) just after the domestic arrivals gate for domestic flights and another at the international arrivals gate. (You can save roughly R100 if you walk straight through the main terminal building to the shops at the domestic arrivals gate.)
At the V&A Waterfront Mall a Vodacom store can be found at the main entrance close to the information booth on the ground floor.
A SIM card costs R105 (~ €6.67) - which then gives you the same amount in calling credit. Turn your mobile data off before you insert it. Once it is inserted, you need to dial the codes to activate the SIM card, and to turn the calling credit into a data bundle. Consult the leaflet for these codes. The minimum amount is enough to load 2GB or more on most networks. Vodacom generally offers the best coverage followed by MTN, Cell C and Telkom Mobile, but they are also slightly most expensive.
* Some small shops or entrepreneurs might offer to sell you a pre-activated SIM card which they activated with their own details. Using a SIM activated like this is risky because they own the number and can move the number given to you to another SIM card at their discretion, making it easier to commit identity theft.
Getting to the venue
Attendees will need to get to the Southern Sun Cape Sun Hotel by themselves. There will be no shuttle between the airport and the hotel. However, there are a number of options to get to the venue.
The conference venue and accommodation for most attendees is at the Southern Sun Cape Sun Hotel. The hotel is a 30 minute drive from the airport.
Transport options
- MyCiti Rapid Bus system's express bus leaves half-hourly from the airport and terminates at the Cape Town Civic Centre, where you can transfer to local bus 105 for no extra cost, and get off at the Strand Street bus stop, which is between the Cape Sun and Sun Square City Bowl hotels (closer to the latter). While single-trip cards to go from the airport to anywhere in the MyCiti system cost R100, if you are going to use the bus again (even if only to return to the airport, but perhaps around the city) it's more economical to get a reusable card for R35 and then pay for your journey (between R63.10 and R96.50 depending on time of day and whether you load cash value or travel points into the card). Fee calculator and route map here
- Uber is available and common in Cape Town. A trip from the airport to the venue will cost between R175 - R250, depending on the time of day. Ubers and taxis depart from the ground floor of the airport's main parkade: When facing the large windows in the terminal building, take the exit at the right and walk straight. The parkade is about 100m ahead, slightly to the left, with automatic glass sliding doors. Enter the building, walk about halfway down the slope and take the exit on the right into the ground-floor parking area. You will meet your Uber driver here.
- Registered metered taxis can be taken from the same place for around R250, although some will offer to match Uber pricing if they see you walking with your phone in your hand.
The surrounding area
The Wikimania venue is located in the historic central part of the city centre of Cape Town. For those wishing to escape the building to attend or organise meetups and other events, below are some suggested places within a 5-minute walk from the hotel.
- Fork restaurant - tapas bar, open until 23:00
- Meeting Point ( Tanzanian Cuisine) - open until 23:00
- Alexander Bar Café and Theatre - open until 01:00
- Kings in Cape Hotel and Restaurant - arguably the best Ethiopian food in Cape Town
- Dapper Coffee - good lunch spot, open until 17:00
- Tiger's Milk Long Street - open until 02:00
- Ace 'n Spades bar - open until 02:00
- Raw and Roxy - raw vegan restaurant, open until 17:00
- Mesopotamia Kurdish Restaurant - closes at mid-night
- Obi Japanese Restaurant - closes at 21:30
- Langham House (Coffee Shop) - open from 07:00 to 17:00
- Addis in Cape Ethiopian Restaurant - open 12:00 to 20:30
For photocopying and poster-making needs, you can find Ink-Mate across the road from the main entrance of the hotel (open 09:00 - 17:00).
Power
There are two different power socket types common in South Africa. The most common is the large three-pronged SANS 164-1 16 A type M type. The second type used in South Africa is the flat two-pinned Europlug. The SANS 164-2 three-pronged plug has recently been adopted as an official standard but is not yet in common usage. The venue has sockets that accept all three of these, but the three-pin type M is in common use all over South Africa.
For a detailed description of the 230 volt / 50 hertz Europlug, Type M, (BS 546 15 Amp) and IEC 60906-1, see the Wikipedia article
The type M three-pin 15 Amp socket is found almost everywhere. The IEC 60906-1 is the new standard, to be phased in over about 50 years, so is generally only found in new buildings. It accepts Europlug without needing an adaptor. Adaptors from Europlug to Type M are easily available at hardware stores and supermarkets, as are adapters from most other household connection systems to Type M. The major exception is for the Australian, New Zealand and Chinese plugs. Adaptors for these are relatively difficult to find and expensive. Try to bring your own adaptor if you have these plugs. If in doubt, bring an adaptor from whatever you have to Europlug, and get another adaptor from Europlug to Type M locally if you find you need it.
The conference venue has combination outlets which have IEC 60906-1 Europlug compatible sockets and Type M 15 Amp sockets.
Clothing
July is late winter in Cape Town so it is recommended that you bring a few articles of warm clothing. While Cape Town enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate, it can get relatively cold in winter – although typically never colder than 1°C. Winter is also the rainy season so a rain jacket is recommended. It is important to note that on sunny days during this time of year, temperatures can get up to 25 °C. The weather is changeable so it is a good idea to bring a relatively wide selection of both warm and cold-weather clothes.
Things to do in Cape Town
For additional information on local tour operators please see: Local Tour Options.
English Wikivoyage has a Wikimania 2018 Cape Town Guidebook.
Food & drink at Wikimania
Food
There is a wide selection of free food options at this year's Wikimania served from multiple food stands spread out on the ground floor, second floor, and third floor. Each of the 3 floors will serve a different selection of hot and cold foods as well as have beverage stands. Here is a break down of the different foods and their locations:
Ground floor:
- Riempies restaurant
- Poke Bowls
- German Würste Stube (not Halal)
- Lounge area
- Noodle bar
- Hot soup station
- Mac & Cheese Stand
Second floor
- Freshly cut sandwiches
- Burger bar
Third floor
- Artisanal sandwiches
- Wraps
Drinks
- Free water bottles will be available in the second and third floors.
- Free coffee and tea will be provided on all levels from 08:00 to 16:00.
- Free soft drinks will be served on all levels from 15:00 to 16:00.